Sunday Mornings
by totheworld
Summary: After the war, things became complicated for Hermione. She had a secret. They all did. Inspired by the song "Until We Bleed" by Andreas Kleerup & Lykke Li.Very sad!Dramione. M for a reason. *Updated!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; only the plot (if you can realize that there is a plot). Everything else is owned by the brilliant JK Rowling. The first word(s) of every chapter came from the song "Until We Bleed", sang by Lykke Li and done by Andrea Kleerup.

*Update: Thanks for all who favorited: Angelndevil1, Backstage Queen, Bittersweet Deception, blackspring'ngreencrystal, danilynn61285, Dramionelover18, hguy13, I Will Change Their Fate, Jo-Marie, licensetospeak, lilkairi17, Lillygoddesss, maggiemay02, Maria Sven, polofreak, secondaryonly, xellll, and xo4Kisses-Dixo (not sure if these are still your pen names, but still). It means a lot. All the chapters are a little edited now, from minor typos and changes in the scenes. If there are any errors left, please review! :))

Author's Note: This fiction is entirely descriptive and highly vague, so if you're looking for "back and forth" conversations between characters, I'm afraid I will fail your wants in a fan fiction. Also, I'm afraid this is also a bit OOC, I haven't done a fan fiction in six years, this is my first try ever since. Reviewing will be highly appreciated! :)

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><p><em>I'm naked.<em>

That was the first words that came to her head when she woke that cloudy Sunday morning. Soon to be Mrs. Ronald Weasley was naked on a bed with no recollection whatsoever of what happened to be a one night stand with another random guy she met in the club she always went to when she felt sad. Pathetic as it may be, she liked being fucked by other men; it makes her feel equal to her fiancé as he too was fooling around with random girls when he's away for work.

After the war, Hermione became an instant celebrity. People wanted to know more about her, who she was, where she came from, what part she had being in the Golden Trio; something that made her really uncomfortable. She was so used to being in the background as she was just some sort of "helper" to Harry Potter that the attention didn't really feel right to her. But she couldn't do much about it. Everything that happened to her since then became very public. From her bringing back her parents' memories, to her return to Hogwarts to finish her education, and her on-and-off relationship with Ron, her face would always be in the papers having speculations of what was on her mind as she would never open up for interviews and what-not. It was enough to be tortured by the Bellatrix Lestrange; she didn't need to have any more of this social circus.

After graduating from Hogwarts as the top student, she decided it would be therapeutic for her to disguise herself and go out in Muggle London. She wanted to experience things that she never had as a teenager like partying until dawn and having her adrenalin pumped with substance abuse (as she wanted to call it). Every Saturday night, she would go to this little underground club to smoke spliff, drink alcohol, and dance to whatever house music the DJ played. She would wear different colored wigs or put washable hair color sprays everytime she did so that her anonymity would be secured. She didn't want to use magic on anything she would do in these nights because it would get in the way of her being muggle. And everytime she went there, it felt like long awaited-escape from the week's hustle.

When Ginny finally told her about her boyfriend's escapades with the ton of woman that throw themselves at him, it ignited Hermione's desire to get even. At first, she was hesitant as she had never been with anyone else for a long time, but she realized that she didn't want to be the little goody two shoes everyone had been calling her in school anymore. She didn't show Ginny that she even thought of such thing, she knew that her friend would only disapprove of it and she didn't want anyone to tell her what to do or not to do. Saturday nights became "I'm going to get fucked and I'm going to like it" nights in her weekly schedule.

The first few times were weird for her, but thanks to her first lesbian, Georgina, who taught her how to really have fun with what she's doing, she got the hang of not feeling sorry leaving the man's room without waking him up. Hermione and Georgina kept in touch, going out whenever the two got the chance. They found a friend in each other, something Hermione longed for because everyone only wanted to be around her because of her celebrity status.

A massive headache embraced her skull as her pulled the maroon colored sheets to cover her exposed breasts. She yawned as she opened her eyes to notice her surroundings. _This guy is definitely not muggle._ She thought as she observed the room she was in. It was certain to her that she felt magic in the air. Still a little groggy, she mustered all her strength to get out his arms, determined (more than usual) to leave without waking him up since he was a wizard. She sat up and stretched her aching limbs, looking for her articles of clothing on the floor. His musky groan alerted her to be a little faster in collecting her blue lacey knickers, hanging tank top, tight blue jean shorts, and bits of her jewelry, some of which were destroyed due to the aggressiveness of previous night's affair, from the floor. She cursed under her breath, regretting not bringing her wand that time as she could've repaired her favorite green metal necklace she bought in a vintage store in France. She started dressing up when suddenly she heard a cool voice whisper,

"I thought you had more class than the others, Granger."

Her heart skipped a beat realizing who she just shared a glorious shag with; her mortal enemy, Draco Malfoy. Unconsciously opening her mouth in disbelief, she turned to look at him while he rubbed his eyes, still half asleep. Draco looked a lot different than before, making Hermione believe that it was only possible explanation she had, she didn't recognize who she was with. He was a bit tanned and his hair was brown and long, a drastic change from his signature platinum slicked back blonde hair. His exposed lean upper body showed battle scars, which Hermione didn't really know of as she thought Draco was never there and probably was in the custody of the Order already; later, she concluded she thought wrong.

"You really aren't going to leave me here alone, right? Or have you done this a lot, that's why you know it's better to leave before he wakes up so you can avoid the awkward 'good morning' greetings?" he said, blankly yawning while saying the last few words. It was hard for her to read him at this time as many thoughts came across her mind. A sudden rush of incoherent memories came to her the moment she started hearing his voice; the sensual dancing, the drunken flirting, the numerous times that shagged each other senseless. For a moment, she closed her eyes and prayed that it was all a dream. She opened her eyes only to see Draco already getting putting on his silver boxers on.

"This is real." She said, with a loud sigh.

"Yes, Hermione, this is real life." He walked past her and placed his hand in her black colored hair. "I like your hair black, you look… different."

She pushed his hand away from her hair and began putting her shorts on. She put her sex-smelling hair into a bun and collected her broken jewelry, putting it in her bag. She was on her way to the door when she realized she hadn't worn her shoes yet. She turned back and saw Draco holding her pair of Chucks. Letting out another heavy sigh, she walked toward him and gave her right hand out, silently asking for her shoes. She knew he wouldn't let her out easily, so she didn't give the effort or the entertainment to jump up if ever she missed stealing her shoes away from him. He was far too tall and she was far too tired for that.

"Now, now, love. You don't have to be all silent with me."

She remained silent. She didn't want to give the impression that he had control over her. It was the last thing she ever wanted to be thought of by anyone, let alone Draco Malfoy. She just stared at him with a straight face, trying to confuse him with her new ability to show no emotion, as she was known for being a bad liar. Over the months of fooling around, she acquired such skill of acting and lying, knowing it was necessary so her friends and her family wouldn't have an idea of what's really going on with her. It went on for a minute of him raising his eyebrow, and her letting out breaths of boredom a few times just to break the deafening silence.

"I've got to hand it to you, you've changed a lot. But we're not going to get all angst-y about this, are we? I mean, we're adults now. We can handle this like adults."

"Okay, since you've got that in mind; give me my shoes, let me leave in peace so we can pretend that this never happened." She said, finally getting her shoes from its kidnapper. "You swear never to tell anyone about this, okay? I mean it, Malfoy."

"Why would you want to pretend it never happened?" He asked in all sincerity. Hermione could tell from his voice that he had a plan in mind. "I mean, you really don't want this to happen, or for it to happen again? I had a really good time last night."

"Don't toy with me, you don't remember half of it," she assumed as she didn't remember much of last night either. Though she couldn't deny that when she woke up, apart from her headache, she had never felt so excited or satisfied.

"Yes, well. I _think_ I had a really good time last night. Surely, I want it to happen again."

"Whatever, Malfoy. Thanks for the bed," she said in a blur, "I hope this never happens again."

"So you're really leaving? Just like that?" he said, disappointed.

"What is wrong with you, Malfoy? Do you not realize who you just had sex with last night? I'm someone's fiancée, and so are you. What we did last night was wrong."

"So what if it was? You liked it, I can see it in your eyes that you did. Besides, you've been doing this to many guys."

"How would you know that?" she inquired in suspicion. She kept it under wraps for months only to find out that Draco Malfoy, the man she never spoke with in years, knew all about it. She felt her heart drop knowing someone can still see right through her after all the effort of running away. "How could you possibly know that?" she repeated.

"Because I've been doing the same thing. Basically for the same reason you are. Only difference is I'm not in love with her and you're head over heels for him."

She heard her shoes drop on his hardwood floors. Her breathing hastened as she struggled to fight her tears. She felt her world crashing down because what he said was somehow very similar to the sentence she never wanted to hear.

_He's not in love with you and you're head over heels for him_.

It was true. It had always been that way. Since they were in sixth year, when she realized she had feelings for Ron, until that moment in time, she was so in love with him; it made her do things that she thought she would never do. She wanted to deny it to herself, but hearing even the sentence only a bit similar to it broke her. He was her weakness. And she meant nothing to him but trophy girlfriend.

She sat down on Draco's bed, forgetting her urge to leave. She felt naked in front of him, there's no point in covering it up from her supposed opponent. Tears fell down her cheeks, her Gryffindor pride shuttering to pieces. All of a sudden, she felt Draco sitting next to her, offering comfort. He wiped her tears off her cheeks and smiled.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what I said, but I didn't mean to make you cry. Look, all I wanted was for you to have breakfast with me. Whatever problems you have with Weasley, I'll leave you to it. Just stay with me a little while." He cupped her chin to face him. Holding her hand, he gave her a light kiss on the lips and smiled at her, something utterly different from his trademark sarcastic smirk.

He stood in front of her petite figure and offered his hand, telling her that everything will be fine. They looked at each other blankly once again; Hermione's mind wandering off into a thought of what this incident could possibly do to their once heated rivalry. _He may be different right now, but it's still him. Does it really matter? This unsolicited affection won't last. I'll take what I can get. _She gave him a weak smile, holding his hand and standing up beside him. He let out a soft chuckle as they walked out of his room.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, only the plot (if you can realize that there is a plot). Everything else is owned by the brilliant JK Rowling. The first word(s) of every chapter came from the first stanza of the song "Until We Bleed", sang by Lykke Li and done by Andrea Kleerup.

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, Miss Jo-Marie and Miss Angelndevil1. You lifted my spirits. I love you guys for it! And for that, here's another chapter. On the first chapter, it was basically Hermione's life after the war. This chapter is a take on Draco's fate after, as well. Reviewing will be highly appreciated! :)

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><p><em>I'm numb.<em>

It's been almost three months since he and Hermione shared their "unforgettable" night together. After just screwing with another random woman he met at the bar near a muggle university, Draco finds himself thinking about Hermione. He thought about the breakfast they had that Sunday morning in his kitchen, how it was the best conversation he had in years. Growing up in the Malfoy household wasn't really the best setting for a child to learn the secret to conversing with others; he only heard a few sentences once in a while from his father while his mother only silently cared for her son as she was not allowed to speak her mind most of the time. This made him very aggressive as a child, always taking out his frustrations to the unknowing house elves. But somehow, talking to the muggleborn he loathed for many years seemed to have done the trick.

Draco wasn't much of a loner, as most may have known. He was very sociable, in his unique way. During his school years, it was evidently felt in the Slytherin House that Draco was superior to everyone every time he spoke, which wasn't very fulfilling to him as anyone thought would. He was feared and no one from his peers would dare question him in any way. Being an intellectual person that he is, he always felt disappointed when talking to his dim-witted goons and always longed for someone that felt equal to him. He envied those groups of people that he found having deep conversations at the side of the corridors or saw laughing at the Great Hall; he would always just think to himself that what they were on about was probably stupid. His "loneliness" may have been the reason why he always felt eager to piss know-it-all Hermione Granger off; she was equal to him, in more ways than he'd admit, and their intense exchange of insults and retorts satisfied him on some level.

As he was given the task to kill his school's headmaster, he found himself torn between two mindsets; one that wants to save himself and his parents from grave danger and another that just wants to runaway and forget anything ever happened. He knew that all his life he was being brain-washed to believe that muggles, half-blooded wizards, and muggleborns are beneath purebloods but he, himself, didn't believe this. Even so, he kept lying to himself, telling himself that his task was an honor given to their family name, even though in reality he was scared to death knowing he might not succeed and will suffer the consequences in case he didn't. Even during the battle, he didn't have the courage cast one offensive spell to enemy lines, only defensive charms to protect him and his parents.

The rest was a blur to him after the Dark Lord had fallen. His family wasn't charged of anything as Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore, even before everything even happened, had already made arrangements for him not to be imprisoned for what he had done as he was, in Snape's words, as a victim of Voldemort as all others were, and of course, for their last-minute switch in allegiance. However, it pained him after his father committed suicide. Though, it didn't take long until he was back on his own two feet, ready to live a second life as a regular wizard of the new Wizarding community.

With his mother, they built a new identifier to the Malfoy name. Along with it was being acquainted with a few eligible ladies that would help re-establish Draco as a new man in the Wizarding world. Pansy Parkinson introduced him to Astoria, their fellow Slytherin and their classmate Daphne Greengrass' younger sister. After a few dates, Draco and Astoria became an item for all to feast on with gossip and news. He was fond of Astoria as she wasn't what people assume of her. She was highly intelligent, very witty, had a sense of humor and, most importantly, was very independent and adventurous. They both didn't want to be tied down to one person, and were willing to have a non-monogamous relationship. Since the two of them agreed that they were not entirely in love with each other, Astoria set rules to be followed to make sure they wouldn't have fights and misunderstand each other. They freely went out with other people, disguise so people wouldn't recognize them, even though they were already engaged for marriage.

He opened his eyes as he heard the blonde haired muggle girl beside him greet him good morning. He flinched as her hand found its way between his legs. Letting out a soft chuckle, he turned to face the girl and stroked her full sized breasts. He prompted himself using his right arm to support his weight and his left hand to leave trail along her curves. She gave him a shy smile, pushing him on the bed, making her landed on top of his chest. Her hair fell down on his face, the smell of apples filling his senses. He closed his eyes, remembering how Hermione smelled that night they shared. Shaking away the thought, he pulled the girl toward him and gave her their final kiss.

"I have to go. I have to get home," he said softly, while putting on his black boxers, "Last night was lovely."

"I know. I was there," she giggled, handing him his white V-neck plain shirt and blue jeans, "I guess I'll see you around, then?"

"You will."

As soon as he finished getting dressed, he walked off this woman's house and looked for an alley to disapparate. While walking, he somehow felt empty inside, knowing that last night's events had no effect to him. On his first few times of fooling around, he would feel satisfied and exhilarated which later turned to a sport as he would challenge himself into meddling with muggle women as well. It fascinated him how different witches and muggles were in bed and even decided to interchange what type of girl he would take every other week, just to keep things new and interesting. Every girl he would fornicate would be different from the one previous to her. This blonde girl should've been exciting for him as she was his first muggle University student, the youngest he has ever done. But, to his dismay, it felt like nothing.

In a few moments, he arrived in the drawing room of the Manor, sighting Astoria inside another man's clothes. Her hair was chestnut red which was her favorite hair color to use when disguising herself. She wore her signature purple lingerie inside a white long sleeved polo, which Draco knew didn't belong to him. She never wore his clothes after they have sex, though he didn't feel even a hint of jealousy towards the man Astoria stole the polo from. The sight of it made him realize he was numb. He didn't feel anything seeing his fiancée looking like wreck after a night of being fucked by another man that he didn't know. He knew he should've at least felt a little disgusted about how their promiscuity didn't bother them both, but he didn't feel anything. He felt nothing. They stared at each other blankly for a few seconds, not knowing what to say to each other as this moment never happened to them before. Finally, Astoria spoke.

"This is much of an eye-opener." She walked across the room, her arms across her chest. "Who's the lucky girl today, Draco?"

"Did we ever talk about _them_ before?" He said, in hesitation. He put his hand on the top of her head and kissed her forehead. She felt warm against his lips. He slowly pulled back and looked into her bare face, noticing a few hickeys along her exposed shoulder.

"I guess we never did, didn't we? We shouldn't, really."

She smiled so angelically at him, something Draco hadn't seen in a while. His mind ran out of thoughts as his hands fell on her shoulders, covering them later with the shirt. He gave her a faint smile, agreeing with what she said. He scratched his head a few times, looking down at her bare feet on their cold marble floors. She turned away from him, walking back toward their room, her hands rubbing the bright red hickeys on her neck and shoulders, letting out quiet sniggers.

He took his wand from their study and charmed his hair back to its original platinum blonde color. Looking at the big gold-framed mirror on the wall on the side his desk, he observed his appearance. His hair at ears' length, his lips were dry pink, his face a little tanned and dry, his eyes were grey and… empty. He tried practicing how to smile and was dismayed of how awkward he looked and how stupid he was to even try. He smirked as he went back to their living room.

Lying on the big green couch, he closed his eyes and let his mind drift to different thoughts about his father's death, his mother in Denmark finally finding happiness in the simple living in the countryside, Pansy Parkinson expecting a baby, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley getting married in a few months, and Hermione Granger being out of the scenes. He felt his pulse beat faster in his body, reminding him how it felt fucking her pointless that one night. The thought of Hermione Granger made his heart beat raise. It has been the only thing that excited him for the last weeks. He opened his eyes instantly, overwhelmed by the reaction his mind and body made with the just the thought of her name. _Hermione Granger._ Reminiscing about their conversation about life after the war, he thought that maybe there's a chance that they could meet again just to feed his craving.

"Are you okay Draco? Did you have breakfast?"

Astoria stood in front of him with two tea cups in her hands. Draco sat up and arranged the pillows at the back, giving Astoria space to sit on their vintage loveseat. She was now wearing her usual cardigan top and loose sweat pants, still barefooted, and her hair back to its dark brown shade. She gave the cup of milk tea to Draco as she took a sip from hers and placed it on top of the coffee table in front of them. She sat beside him while he took a sip, and then making him lay down again with his head on her thigh. He closed his eyes, trying to get his mind off Granger for a minute as he was actually spending a serene moment with his fiancée. He let out a breath, feeling Astoria play with his hair, massaging the back of his head.

"I'm not hungry." He said, holding her hand and giving it a light peck.

She continued playing with his hair with her soft warm hands. He would hear her deep breaths as the Manor was very silent that Sunday morning. She would then place her hand on Draco's chest, while looking out the window. From his view, he could see how radiant her skin was against the sunlight coming in the house. She would then look back at his face and straighten her lips to a thin line, forming another smile. She looked so peaceful and satisfied to him. He remembered then that he was going to get married to this woman, the woman that will forever be by his side. His eyes lit up as he knew he made the right decision.

"We're set to wed in a month, Draco." She stated in a tone of a whisper. "Don't you have plans of—"

"Cancelling it? No." He said, in a hazy manner. He held her hand tighter this time, making sure to her that he wanted their marriage to happen. He opened his eyes but saw Astoria eyes blinking in surprise. He pretended that what he said was a joke, which didn't pass on as what really his previous statement was.

"What I was going to say was 'don't you have plans to stop fooling around with other women?'"

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><p>Author's Note: I have no idea how Astoria would be like, as she wasn't really described. Reading other people's work (only a few, but still), she's always the dependent woman to Draco. I'd like to think of her differently. Please review. Thanks for reading! :o3<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, only the plot (if you can realize that there is a plot). Everything else is owned by the brilliant JK Rowling. The first word(s) of every chapter came from the first stanza of the song "Until We Bleed", sang by Lykke Li and done by Andrea Kleerup.

Author's Note: A huge thanks to Ms. BeneHime1124 for that awesome review. Thanks as well to the people who put this fic in their story alerts. :D Again, this fiction is entirely descriptive and highly vague, blah blah blah, I'm afraid I will fail your wants in a fan fiction...blah blah...a bit OOC. Still, reviewing will be highly appreciated! The last chapter was Draco having troubles with Astoria (and longing for Hermione, hihi). This is another Hermione chapter, this time having problems with Ron and a secret. Enjoy. :)

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><p><em>I'm stupid.<em>

Hermione thought to herself one Sunday Morning, looking at Ron practically snoring himself to oblivion beside her. They fought the night before about the news article of Ron seen out and about the streets of Scotland. In the moving pictures of the newspaper, he was wrapped around the arms of Cho Chang, their previous Hogwarts schoolmate and supposed ex-girlfriend of their best friend. Shouting and breaking of glass was heard a hundred feet away from their apartment in Lee, London, as they were at each others' throats fighting about this latest situation. It was their worst fight ever as it was the most publicized affair of Ron in the history of their relationship and was shared with someone who he shouldn't have even thought to do it with. The worst of it was Ron wasn't sorry and felt that he was misunderstood; trying to fool Hermione into thinking that all were just rumors. But Hermione knew it happened, the pictures said it all. He was holding her hand, she was kissing his neck; it didn't look like a lunch date at all. All the while, Hermione felt under-estimated as to Ron would believe that he had what it takes to fool her again.

In their fights, one thing always had its way of stopping it. Hermione and Ron shared a night of loud and violent shag. They would push each other to their limits, slap each other while thrusting into each others' hips, bite each others' lips while cursing each other with the foulest of words, push each other while wrestling for the top position. After all that, they would wake up the next morning like nothing happened. That's how they were; it wasn't what Hermione hoped for when she started falling in love and dating Ron, but she knew it was the only thing that could keep them together somehow. She felt horrible every time they did it, so she would pray every time that this would be the last one and that Ron would change back to the man he fell for. To her disappointment, it wasn't happening for the past six months.

An owl found its way into their room as the window was broken open. It had a small scroll on its foot, tied with a red ribbon. Hermione took the small piece of paper from the white feathered friend and sighed at the name signed below it. She charmed all the broken things in their apartment as she read the rest of what was on the small parchment.

_**Hermione, **_

_**I need to talk to you. Florance's Place, 11am. **_

_**-Harry**_

She set the owl out the window without a reply. He knew she would come, even if she didn't want to. It's been a while since they last saw each other as Hermione and Ron wouldn't go out with Harry and the rest of the Weasleys as much; they didn't like the criticizing eyes of their friends, mostly due to how Ron always cheated on her and Hermione would always forgive him. Also with the wedding planning of Harry and Ginny's nuptials, even though she was a bridesmaid, Hermione tried her best to lay low as all the news people would be there. Luckily Ginny understood her since Ginny wasn't fond of the cameras flashing either, but she had no choice seeing that she was marrying the hero everyone wants a piece of. Ginny was just happy that Harry never got his head caught up in the fiasco, unlike her brother. Harry was still himself, the caring and compassionate one.

She stepped in the shower and rinsed her hair with her favorite apple scented shampoo. As her nose was filled with the familiar smell, she heard a voice at the back of her head moan about how it smelled great. It was Draco's voice she heard as she scrubbed her body with bathing gel. She would hear him groan as her hands made their way to her breasts. With her eyes closed, she imagined Draco being in front of her, delighted at the sight of her naked body. She felt her breaths sharpen as one hand was pinching a nipple and the other unconsciously going to her core. However, she stopped as she heard Ron calling her name outside the bathroom, interrupting her fantasy. She quickly rinsed herself as Ron asked her to come down and eat the breakfast he made for her. In her towel, she opened the door and kissed her fiancé good morning.

After breakfast, Hermione excused herself to get dressed, as she was still wearing just a towel. Ron gave her a childish grin as he took another bite of his Belgian waffles. She went up to their room and went into her separate closet room. She chose a low cut, bright yellow floral dress she had never worn before, going for a jolly happy look to see Harry. She wanted to give Harry the impression that everything's fine and all he needed to worry about is his upcoming wedding. She put on her brown flip-flops and headed to the bathroom to fix her wet hair. She put on her scarlet red lipstick to match her pale skin and concealed light visible red lines on her face from last night with a glamour charm. She practiced smiling at the mirror, making sure she looked good for her friend so he wouldn't feel the need to help her in any way.

Checking the time, it was almost 10:45 am when she decided to finally leave the house. She asked Ron if there's anything he wanted as she was going to the market on her way back. In expectation, he asked for chicken and pork as they were running out of meat in their refrigerator. They embraced each other as she went out the front door.

Walking along the park on her way to Florance's Place, she saw two little children running around the park, probably playing tag, and a couple watching their kids in that happy state. She stopped for a while to imagine her and Ron doing the same thing in five years time, sitting on a picnic blanket while their children feed the ducks bread at the pond. She took a deep breath, holding that thought in her head as she continued on her way to her destination. She didn't have a specific look on her face, as the thought was just merely a thought; it wasn't her expectations of their future as parents, as husband and wife, it was just a thought that popped to her head. She finally reached Florance's after 10 minutes of walking.

As expected, Harry was already there waiting. Sitting outside the café, Harry waved hello while Hermione was crossing the street. They shared a friendly embrace and asked each other how the other was doing. Hermione missed Harry's company, he always had his way of making Hermione at ease and comfortable. Being friends for a long time and being together while looking for the Horcruxes and figuring out how to defeat Voldemort, they became more than just best friends, more than a shoulder to cry on, a friend to count on, and a sibling they wished they had. Hermione asked about how the wedding planning was going and Harry answered that he almost had nothing to do with it anymore since Molly just took the thing off his plate. They laughed at how silly the plans made were, but Harry still expressed his gratitude to Molly for being a great mother to Ginny.

"Look, you're probably wondering why I asked you to meet me." Harry said after taking a sip of his hot coffee.

"Not really, but now that you mentioned it, why did you wanted to see me?" she said as bubbly as she could, showing that she had no idea what Harry was on about. Partly, it was true; it could be anything. There was so much going on with Hermione like work, not being around for gatherings, and Ron's recent fling with Cho Chang.

"It's about Ron."

"Look, Harry, I'm really sorry you had to see Ron like that, especially since you just knew about it in the papers. We talked about it last night and… believe me, he had no idea what he was doing, he and Cho were drunk. You know what happens when people get drunk like that, right?" Hermione explained, almost sounding scripted as she composed this sentence the moment she saw the news, knowing that one of the coming days, someone would ask about it. It was an absolute lie, which sadly Harry knew. "He promised he won't do it again…"

"What are you saying?" Hermione blinked in surprise, seeing Harry bewildered by Hermione's recent explanation. "'Mione, you may have been better in lying now, but I know what happened that day with Cho. I was with Ron in Scotland. It was my bachelor party, which we didn't have the chance to tell you about since you were with your parents. We thought it would be okay with you." Harry said, apologetic. Hermione blinked a few more times, starting to process everything that Harry said. _Ron was telling the truth?_

"We ran into Cho the first day we arrived, and she wanted to catch up. I didn't mind since we were through, and I'm getting married. Then, she went up to Ron, being friendly and asking about how he was. I didn't think that they would hit it off. The next thing I knew, Ron was knocking at my door, asking for help. He said that he cheated again, but he didn't want to. It was just that he felt inferior to you and being with other women, he felt like a man. I don't know if Ron ever told you this they way you want him to, but he loves you, he just can't help himself because he feels small."

For the first time in a while, Hermione felt dense, ashamed, and guilty. She realized just then that she never tried to solve the problem, that's why they were both miserable. She wanted to blame Ron, but she couldn't do it knowing that it was her fault why he was like that in the first place. It wasn't him being controversial for the world to click their cameras at him; it was her being self-centered and revengeful. She felt a hand hold hers, stroking the back of her hand with its thumb.

"You just need to talk about it, because after the moment you knew about him cheating, it felt to him like you were just staying in the relationship because you want him to feel guilty because you were still there, not bothering to talk things through and letting him off the hook the next morning."

"Harry, I don't know what to say," she said, looking at her tea. "I didn't know."

"He needs you. He's scared that you might leave him any time because he knows you can. If you still want him, Hermione, then you should fix this," he advised. He let go of her hand, taking another sip of his tea. He paused for a second, taking him a while before he continued, "But if not, you should just let each other go, save each other the tears."

"Why would you be under the impression that I don't love him anymore?" she sipped her tea, trying to cover her face that can no longer cover her insecurities about their present relationship.

"I just feel it. Besides Ron, I know you more than anyone. I mean, you're always out of reach. And if I didn't know you better, I'd think you're having an affair." He said, jokingly. He didn't know how much truth that sentence had it in. She wouldn't believe it herself, but she _was_ having an affair.

She placed the cup back on the table, suddenly staring at left-over residue in it. She looked at Harry with an assuring smile, praying to God that he would buy it. It wasn't hard to make Harry believe that she didn't have a lover. No one would believe it even there were possible evidences already in front of them. She felt bad about lying this time, after what Harry just said about Ron wanting to redeem himself. Fidgety, she played with her engagement ring.

"I know better than to cheat on Ron. I know how it feels to be cheated on, and I love Ron, even if he did it more than once, I wouldn't dare do such thing."

_What a great lie, Granger._ She heard Draco say in the back of her head again. She flinched slightly, hearing her lover's voice in front of a friend innocent of the love game she started. She looked at her back to see Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy across the street, on their way to Florance's Place.

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><p>Author's Note: Sorry about the "hanging" type of endings I do with my work. I kind of went with that type of story structure, just to keep the readers confused and imaginative. And yes, Draco's already married at this point. They were still on with their affair even after Draco married. I'll tell why in the next chapter, but I'm sure you know why already.. ;) Thanks for reading! Your thoughts? Review! :)<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; only the plot (if you can realize that there is a plot). Everything else is owned by the brilliant JK Rowling. The first word(s) of every chapter came from the first stanza of the song "Until We Bleed", sang by Lykke Li and done by Andrea Kleerup.

Author's Note: Thank you for putting this story in your alerts. Special thanks for BeneHime1124 and Angelndevil1 for reviewing in the previous chapter. Technically, this is the end of it; the last of their Sunday Mornings. But I'm not saying it's done! I don't want to spoil anything, but I'm just going to say I already wrote two very different endings. I'll upload them both. All the warnings I've mentioned in previous chapters will obviously be the same in this one. I hope you've enjoyed reading the previous chapters and will enjoy reading this one. Reviews are still highly appreciated. Thanks for reading this far. :)

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><p><em>"I'm staying."<em>

Hermione stood still in front of Draco, as he was begging her to leave. She couldn't get him off her mind, as he couldn't stop thinking about her. It had been a while since the two of them last met and shared a sensational night together. But on that sunny Sunday morning, he knew that it was their last; Hermione Granger will be Hermione Weasley in a few hours.

The two were at the huge front doors of the Malfoy Manor. Draco composed himself to keep a straight look on his face, Hermione was teary-eyed and her face questioning. He was distant to her, trying to avoid her alluring scent. He knew that she would ask him about their relationship. He may have not admitted it to himself, but he fell in love with Hermione that morning at breakfast. But even so, he chose to marry Astoria as it would result to less controversy. Before marrying Astoria, he weighed his options thoroughly; if he were to leave Astoria and be with Hermione, the whole world will once again think of him as the evil one, and if he were to marry Astoria (and possibly still be with Hermione, because he didn't mind doing so, without anyone knowing), people would leave him alone and no one will get hurt.

Astoria and Draco were very happy after they got married. They respected each other and it was the best foundation their marriage had. They talked about wanting two children, a boy and a girl. They shared laughs, joking about funny baby names and how weird their children would look like. For a while, he felt satisfied just being a faithful husband to his wife. But deep inside, he knew he longed for Hermione. He longed for her smiles, her quirky facial expressions when he'd say something funny or sarcastic, her warm figure next to his. Whenever he felt that way, somehow, Hermione felt the same. No words were exchanged about what they were about to do being wrong and disgraceful. They just enjoyed each others' company, and leave right after they felt it was done.

Because she was getting married, he invited Hermione to meet him two weeks before her wedding to say their final goodbyes. By that, meaning, they shared a night of incredible passion and desire. He planned the whole thing carefully, knowing he will never get his hands on this woman after that night. He brought her to an elegant restaurant his friend Blaise Zabini owned and brought her white flowers with a little note inside which he said should be opened the morning after. He danced with her for the last time in a bedroom they rented above while sharing a 67 year old red wine. They made love, the most gentle and affectionate love making they ever had. The morning after, Hermione found herself alone in the bed with the bouquet of roses beside her. The note inside said: _Thanks for the memories. Be happy. -D_

Draco thought it was enough, what he did for her. Later, he only realized that what he did only confused the beautiful witch in front of him. It made her hold the thought of them to be actually possible. She longed more from him, something he wasn't willing to give. He made a promise to Astoria that he would never leave her; he intended to keep that promise as to that moment in time his beloved wife was pregnant with their first child. He felt burdened by everything, recognizing the possibility that everything may be his fault and his fault alone. He couldn't blame Hermione for wanting more from him because that's what he asked for as well before he married. He remembered her exact words as she rejected him: _I don't want to be the reason people will hate you again. I'll still be here when you want me._ Though this time, he didn't intend to keep it the same way once Hermione exchanged vows with Weasley. He wanted to change for the better, for their future families.

He observed how Hermione didn't disguise herself coming to his home. She wore her usual Muggle clothing, a peach colored blouse, red doll shoes, and a pencil cut black skirt. She wore a thin head band and controlled her natural bushy brown hair in a ponytail. Her face looked neat and elegant, all natural, just like how she said pictured herself in her wedding day. He imagined her in her wedding dress, the pure white silk satin gown with beading detail hugging her curves and flowing toward the floor. She looked so exquisite and lovely in his head; the corner of his lips formed a slight curve.

He didn't entertain the thought for long; he needed her to go back to the Burrow where she should be. He wondered what the Weasley family and the others were feeling, looking for the main character of the event that day. He cleared his throat and looked again at the gorgeous women upon him, fighting the urge to make her stay with him.

"I'm telling you, you should leave. You wouldn't want anyone to see you here, not on your wedding day." He said icily, trying to push her away as cold as he could.

"I'm sorry for letting you go before, but now, I don't know what to do. I want to be with you." Her breaths sharpen at her confession, still trying her best not to shed a single tear in front of him. As her chest rose up and down, Draco did his best not to be moved by her presence. He knew he needed to save her from her life-damaging want of being with him. He needed her to be at that altar.

"Astoria might wake up and see you from the windows."

"I don't care." She said in a firm tone, not meeting his eyes' stare.

"Hermione, two weeks ago was amazing; it was the best night I've ever had with you, and I'll forever remember it."

He didn't want to feel her skin against his, but he couldn't help himself knowing it was the last time they will ever get close to each other. He put his hands on her bare shoulders, giving them a firm squeeze. He waited for her to look back so he can say it to her face.

"But, we have to grow up from the fantasy that you and I will happen. Think about it; you with me? It's impossible." Hermione looked away at his statement, wiping her tears.

God knew how hard it was for him to let her go, but it was the only way to finally give Hermione what he thought she deserved; an honest life as Ron Weasley's wife and as a decent mother of his children. He couldn't bear the thought of Hermione being with him while thinking about the family he was betraying. Sure, it would be fun, hating Weasley's guts helped him stay in their affair, but conscious of Astoria's pregnancy with their first child; he had a wake-up call.

"We are not alike at all," he continued, "We don't love each other. We shouldn't. We couldn't. You belong with Weasley, I belong with Astoria. It was how we were written. We can't change that."

"You were the one who told me that we make our own choices."

"But you're trying to make the wrong one, Granger."

He did mean what he said, no matter how hurtful it must have felt to her. He knew that Hermione didn't go to his house and ask him to run away with her because she just felt like it. She, too, weighed her options. He wasn't sure of what Hermione's mind was thinking, but like himself, he figured that she must have held that thought on her way to the Manor to inquire on the odds of the other wanting the same thing. He didn't want her to feel he was rejecting her, but he didn't want her to think that the two of them had a chance still.

"You really think this is wrong? Is that how you really feel, Draco?" she asked, with a hint of shock. She must've known he would say that on her way there, as it was almost the same thing she said to him before.

"Yes, Granger. Look, this isn't revenge for rejecting me in the past. I know now how you felt that day I went to your apartment, asking you to run away with me. Believe me; I think you made the best decision in your life. I don't want you to ruin your life because of me, just the same with how you didn't want to ruin my life before."

A few more seconds were spent in silence as Hermione stayed perfectly still in front of him. He found it ironic how in the first Sunday morning they spent together, he almost forced her to stay and on that Sunday morning, he was obliging her to leave. On that first morning, she was the one suggesting what they did was wrong, and now he was the one telling her that what she wanted was wrong. It was a reversal he never wanted to happen.

One thing was sure to him, he didn't want to see her cry. In the span of time in their "relationship", it was hard not to see her cry. From the very first morning he saw her sobbed in his bed, he vowed never to make her do it again. It was something he wasn't fond of seeing in his life, a woman crying. It would always remind him of his childhood, his mother crying in front of his father, helpless because of the task given to him by Voldemort. After the war, he never let out a tear out of his eyes; he never got the chance to grieve. Remembering these things at the sight of her wet eyes, he let out another noisy breath, putting his hand inside his robes' pockets.

"Before I do that— before I leave, I just want to know one thing." She took his hand and placed it just above her breast. He could feel her strong heart beating through her ribcage. His senses tingled in their intimate contact. Her heart beat loud and fast. She looked at him straight in the eye and asked in a whimpering whisper, "Did you ever love me? You never said you did. If you tell me what I want to hear, I'll leave… and get married to Ron."

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, still feeling her heartbeat upon his hand. He wanted to say no, but he couldn't lie about how much Hermione meant to him. It wasn't like him to be satisfied with one woman or be restricted by laws and norms. Though this time, he was trying his best to be the man his wife wants him to be. He wanted to be the man that will take care of her without any guilt in his mind. He wanted to be a good father to his future son, opposite to what his father had done to him. He wanted to right his wrongs, possibly all of them if he could. He wanted to be respectable in his own skin. He wanted to be normal. In silence, he composed his explanation.

Before he even spoke, Hermione put his hand on his chest, letting it go. Putting her hair behind her ear, she felt a cold wind brush her face. She didn't look at him anymore, feeling unconfident with Draco's possible response to her question. She tried her best not to cry, but a silent tear drop found its way to her cheeks. She looked away from him, wiping her tear. He knew she didn't want to look defeated in front of him. He cupped her chin, making her face him again. He put his forehead against hers, his hand caressing her cheek.

"I did love you, Hermione. You better listen to me now because I won't say this again: in another life, you and I will have a shot." He let out a soft laugh, which Hermione smiled to. "Be happy with Weasley, raise his kids with your witty skills and upright morals." He said firmly. He pulled back and gave her a smirk. "I will never forget you, Hermione. I believe that what we had was special, but it's time to grow up. I mean, we're adults now, aren't we?"

They both laughed softly, hearing that line he said to her that morning that started it all.

"Whatever Malfoy, thanks for the bed," she sniffed, smiling, "I hope this never happens again."

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><p>Author's Note: It's sort of fluff, the last bit. But whatever, I think it needed to be said. Thanks for reading. Please review! Hugs and tickles. =)<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: The End

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; only the plot (if you can realize that there is a plot). Everything else is owned by the brilliant JK Rowling. The first word(s) of every chapter came from the first stanza of the song "Until We Bleed", sang by Lykke Li and done by Andrea Kleerup.

Author's Note: This isn't a Sunday Morning that was really planned to be written, but I had this fantasy of Rose and Scorpius (which I think is also a big possiblity, seeing as JK Rowling wrote the two as of same age) filling the small hole in Dramione shippers' hearts when their parents were not written to be together in the end. So, I made this little Sunday Morning scene. :)

Though, I have to warn you, if you don't like fluffs or Scorose being within a Dramione fic, don't read this one, just proceed to my alternate ending.

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><p><em>And if Cupid's got a gun, then he's shootin'<em>

One morning, a bushy ginger haired girl was reading her copy of Magical Draughts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, in advance to satisfy her urge in getting the highest mark in their upcoming Potions examination. Rose Weasley sat near the Black Lake as the sun was still slowly rising upon the horizon. She stopped reading to take a mental picture of the beautiful scene in front of her. She felt the cold wind embracing her, refreshing and enchanting. She liked how cold it was; it reminded her of calm and peaceful nights spent with her family at their house in London.

It was her fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but it always felt like her first. She always had this fascination in magic, of how it defined witches and wizards into doing extraordinary things. She felt like a muggle for thinking so, but she didn't mind as she held the feeling in her heart, wanting to learn more about it every time she'd come back to school. She was curious and inquisitive, much like her mother.

She looked at her wristwatch as it signaled her to wake up her company from deep sleep. She rolled her eyes in revulsion as her supposed study partner was sound asleep beside her. Scorpius Malfoy was lying down on a blanket they transfigured the night before, previously planning to pull an all nighter reading books for the upcoming exams and in advance, for the O.W.L.s, but in turned out to be him falling asleep after only a few hours of reading. Rose giggled quietly, noticing a thin line of drool in the corner of his mouth. She found herself staring at his pale pointed face.

Ever since the detention they shared after having an exchange of foul words in Professor Longbottom's class in second year, they decided it was best to call a truce since they learned that they actually had a lot in common. Though scared of what their peers would say, Rose proposed they would keep their new friendship a secret. _"The world isn't ready for a Weasley/Malfoy friendship yet."_ She said to him, making him agree to just meet in private instead of continuously thinking of reasons to tell people when they were to be seen together.

Their friendship was a bit distinct as it was based on debates and heated arguments. They would argue about anything from which Quidditch team would win the World Cup, to who the best Minister of Magic in the history of the Wizarding world was, even which drink tasted better at the Yule Ball. It was fun for them, the intellectual discussions, learning from each others' points of view. They were genuinely good friends as they didn't befriend each other based on who their parents were because if they did, they believe they shouldn't be friends at all. But then again, whenever they'd talk about their parents, it felt like it didn't really matter.

He shook his shoulder, with the occasional 'wake up, you idiot!' phrase here and there. It took her approximately three minutes to get him to open his eyes. She slapped him in the face hard enough for him to sit up. As he did, he yawned loudly and stretched his hands above his head. He gave her a light punch in the arm and immediately grabbed it, knowing she would fall from her seating if he didn't. He smiled at the morning's sunlight, letting it nourish him with its beaming rays.

"You're up early." He said, caressing her cheek with his finger.

"Didn't sleep. I was busy reading," playfully putting her book on his face. "You didn't tell me your plan was to sleep the whole night. I could've prepared myself from the silence and brought my MP3 player with me." She sneered.

"You could've just Accio'd it," brushing off the leaves from his uniform, "I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"I could've, but then I thought that someone borrowed my headphones and if I wanted to play music, it would be in loud speaker," she looked at him mockingly, "I wouldn't want to wake you up from your sleep, now would I?"

"Oh my goodness! Well, sorry, I didn't know you cared about me so much," he stated, in a friendly yet sarcastic manner. "Anyway, I'm a bit of a deep sleeper, you shouldn't have minded me."

"Yes, I actually did observe that. Due to extreme boredom and silence, I found myself kicking your feet last night while reading; you didn't even bother to make a wince or a sound." She kicked him again with her bare feet. "You were in such deep sleep I could've silently murdered you without anyone knowing."

"Eew, Weasley, you didn't just force me to play footsie with you in my sleep, did you? You took advantage of me there!" his eyes opened in fright. He pointed his finger at her, raising his eyesbrows mischievously.

"In your dreams, Malfoy. Who would want that when you don't even clean your feet properly?" she looked at his feet, dramatically acting shocked. "Is that dirt in your toe nails?" She put her hand on her forehead jokingly, acting very disappointed.

"I thought you were my friend and yet you thought about taking my life? Now, I'm forever scarred with this pain of knowing you wanted me dead." He said, sobbing exaggeratedly which later turned into chuckles.

The two laughed in sync, watching the waves form on the lake. Rose laid her head on Scorpius' shoulder, feeling rather sleepy from all the reading she did that night. Scorpius let out a snort as he felt his senses tingle at the contact. In unison, they let out a deep breath.

"I would never want you hurt, you know that," Rose whispered in the wind, "You're my friend." She turned to him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

Scorpius's ears turned bright red as he felt Rose's lips on his cheek. He suddenly remembered what his father said to him when Draco found out about him and Rose exchanging letters over the summer. He was told that it didn't matter what people would say about it and that it's none of their business. His dad knew instantly that he had feelings for Rose and that he was scared that his father would find out because she was a Gryffindor and a Weasley. But, he got a pat on the back and a wish of luck from his beloved father, hoping that he would turn out as happy as he was with his mother. His father even promised him not to tell his mother that didn't want him to be well acquainted with women during his school years in fear that he will not do well academically. He grinned at the thought, knowing that his father supported him. He turned to see Rose' bright ginger hair on his shoulder; he didn't want it any other way.

After a few minutes of silence, Scorpius finally stood up and stretched a bit before offering his hand to Rose. She smirked at the offer and took it gladly. As they cleaned the area, transfiguring things back to the way they were, they continued humorously bickering about whose toenails were dirtier. With Scorpius' arm around Rose's shoulders, they walked back to the castle, singing Glockenspiel Song and wondering what their parents were like when they were at Hogwarts.

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><p>Hermione Weasley was waiting for her daughter outside a muggle bookstore that gloomy morning. They were supposed to meet there thirty minutes ago to eat brunch. It's been their tradition to spend every Sunday morning of summer going out and eating brunch so they could bond. Rose was pretty close to her father and consequently, felt a little distant to her mother. Rose was very sporty and played a lot of Quidditch with her dad and Hugo, leaving Hermione a little out of place once in a while. But, to Hermione's delight, it was Rose' idea to do that weekly ritual of buying books and eating out with her mom. Though, she knew it was because Rose needed some guidance in how to mingle with boys, which was certainly a topic she can't bring up with her father.<p>

"Sorry mom, I bumped into a friend inside." She heard her daughter's voice from a distance. She looked up to see Rose beside a tall blonde boy. It didn't take her long to know who her friend was. Hermione silently composed herself at the sight of her former lover's son.

"You must be Scorpius Malfoy. A pleasure to meet you, I'm—"

"Mrs. Hermione Weasley. It's an honor to finally meet you, Ma'am. Rose' told me a lot about you." Scorpius shook her hand firmly, looking very pleased to meet the mother of the girl of his dreams, "but of course, I already knew about them since I've read the many books about your life achievements. I've also read your latest book on new Healing Spells you've invented."

"Well, you really know how to flatter." Hermione gave him a wink, making Rose blush. Scorpius looked shy suddenly, still smiling slightly. "Are you alone? Who are you with?"

"I'm with my father. He's just buying a few things."

Hermione felt her heart skip a beat, much like the first time it did when she heard Draco's voice on their first rendezvous. _Of course, he's here with Draco._ She thought to herself. Ever since that morning in the Malfoy Manor, Hermione never had the chance to talk to Draco. She didn't bother inviting him there so she wouldn't think of leaving Ron halfway through the ceremony. All at once, her thoughts began to remind her of the man she thought her feelings for had been buried and gone forever. After a few seconds of silence, she saw Rose and Scorpius tending to each other's appearance. She saw a glow in her daughter's eyes. She smiled at the two, who reminded her that it's not in her position to be emotionally excited or troubled. The main characters of this story were them, not her and Draco.

"So, are you and your dad going to join us for brunch, Scorpius?" Hermione asked the shy teenage boy. He looked at her, a little startled, as his attention focused too much on Rose. Rose giggled.

"I think my father would like that. He's been meaning to meet with you, actually. He said he wanted to catch up. It's really a great coincidence that we met here, don't you think Rose?" He turned to Rose, widening his eyes, almost asking for help.

"Yeah, mom. I think it would really be nice if we four ate brunch together."

Hermione grinned at the sight of the two, obviously suggesting the joint brunch to spend more time together. She let out a little laugh, seeing the two smiling at her in unison. She nodded, making the two almost jump in happiness. But, Hermione told them that they should be on their best behavior. They never know if someone that knew them was lurking around. Seeing the Weasley-Malfoy quartet having brunch altogether can come with a shock, she added.

"Hermione's right." Draco affirmed, walking towards the three. He gave Hermione a quick glance, assuring her that all was fine.

After the introductions, they decided to eat at a Persian restaurant Georgina, still a good-friend of Hermione's, owned a few blocks from the mall they were at. Walking there, the obvious pairings were made and Hermione and Draco walked side by side after fifteen years of separation. It had an aura of familiarity and it didn't take long for them to start chatting like they did before. They laughed about how the other was aging oddly fast. Draco joked about Hermione, Ron and Harry's faces being on the Chocolate Frogs Cards. They chatted about the each other's spouses and the hardships of being a parent. Then, they fell silent suddenly, both looking at their children. The teenagers were arm in arm, walking happily in their own little bubble.

"You do realize that my son is head over heels for your daughter? I better warn him though about Ronald Weasley's temper." He smirked, looking at Hermione sigh.

"I think you should, Rose is very close to Ron. Without Ron's approval, this would fall apart fast. But don't you worry, Ron won't know about this anytime soon. Rose doesn't really talk to Ron about boys." She looked back at Draco, half-smiling.

"Smart move. I guess what Scorpius told me was right; your daughter got your brains." They laughed and continued to walk.

Brunch went well for the four. Hermione and Rose sat across Draco and Scorpius. The four shared a conversation about Rose and Scorpius' aims for their futures. Rose aimed to be a professional Quidditch player for Hollyhead Harpies, the team her Aunt Ginny used to be a member of. But if she failed in that, she said she would train to become an Auror like her father. Scorpius planned to become a Mediwizard, or a Healer. He later added that he wanted to try writing Auror-related novels as well, since he loved reading Detective novels growing up. It was clear to their parents that the two had an image of having a future together; even though Rose and Scorpius were ambiguous of the other thinking the same thing. Draco and Hermione's smiles of contentment were apparent to each other.

After brunch, Draco gave Scorpius money to take Rose somewhere she wanted to go. Politely, Scorpius asked Hermione if he could take Rose on a formal date. Hermione smiled and told him to get her home before 7PM. Draco gave his son a literal pat at the back, whispering that he should bring her to a Quidditch shop. As the two teenagers disapparated, Hermione and Draco agreed to take a walk towards the park nearby Florance's Place, a very memorable place for both of them. They enjoyed the silence enveloping them, stealing glances of each other every few minutes. Arriving at the park, they sat on a bench facing the pond and finally had their "talk".

Hermione told Draco about her life after the wedding, being very happy and satisfied. She left the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to aid Harry and Ron in the Auror Department. She was translating the Beedle of the Bard book into English and wanted to publish her translation, which fascinated Draco and immediately expressed his want to help in the publication. She also added that Ron was helping George in their famous family business, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She didn't stop herself to let out the fact of her wanting to forget Draco completely and that being a mother to two children helped.

Draco enlightened Hermione on his life after that morning as well. He and Astoria bought Twilfitt and Tatting's, his mother's favorite clothing shop in the day. He boasted about helping Astoria in innovating Wizarding clothing, mixing it with a more Muggle casual feel. He also brought up his plans of putting up his on publishing company that will print novels and possibly translated works. Draco laughed about him being a business man as a weird joke. He bragged about him being the best father Scorpius could have had; his parenting style was pretty much the opposite from his father's. But, like Hermione, he clearly stated his misery on the first few months of being apart from her.

"I really have to thank you from making me marry Ron. You were right; it was the best thing to do." Hermione took a pause, looking at Draco beside her. She placed her hands together on her lap. "I mean, if we did run away together, it couldn't have done us well. Eventually, we will live with the consequences that we weren't really mature enough to face at the time. It would've—"

"Destroyed us both. I know," Draco exclaimed, holding her hand tightly, "We would've ended up fighting all the time and driven each other mad. But I did want to see you after that. I just… I guess I didn't want to see you until I can say that I've finally moved on from us and that I'm happy." Draco sat more comfortably on the bench and laughed quietly at his confession.

"I know what you mean. But I have to admit, those first nights of thinking about 'what if', I never imagined this sight of us talking and being friendly." Hermione followed his suit and laid her back on the back rest. "It's really nice to see you again, Draco."

"It's nice to see you too, Hermione." he put his hand, offering a hand shake, "Looks like we'll be seeing each other again soon?"

"Yes, I think so," she confirmed, confidently shaking his hand, "definitely."

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><p>Author's Note: Of course I still want Hermione and Draco to be friends. I think they would've been great friends if it weren't for the circumstances. And the ScorpiusRose action? Well, I think it's already a thing in most fan fictions for the pairing to be a reason for Hermione/Draco interactions. As a hardcore Dramione fan, I'm very well satisfied if this was the ending to what I'm reading. So, please review! :)

Don't like it? Well, proceed to the next chapter to find out how I really visioned this to end.

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. :]


	6. Chapter 5: Alternate End

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; only the plot (if you can realize that there is a plot). Everything else is owned by the brilliant JK Rowling. The first word(s) of every chapter came from the first stanza of the song "Until We Bleed", sang by Lykke Li and done by Andrea Kleerup.

Author's Note: This is a very wordy descriptive ending, since I've literally summarized the whole turn of events. I was planning to make this into a possibly 20+ chaptered work but since school's going to start in June and I figured I don't want to leave a work unfinished, I ended it like this.

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><p><em>And if Cupid's got a gun, then he's shootin'<em>

That gloomy Sunday morning, Draco wrapped his arms around the crying widow of Ron Weasley. The two lay in a bed in Hermione and Ron's former apartment. Hermione found herself revisiting the place after her husband's tragic death, only to be comforted by the man who was the main conflict of her marriage.

Hermione and Ron married six months after Draco and Astoria. But it wasn't about Draco's marriage, but rather her want to settle down and correct her mistakes with Ron. But, at the last minute, she had doubts and went to Draco, asking him to runaway with her. To her dismay, she was rejected, but she secretly hoped their affair didn't stop there. After the wedding, Ron was very happy seeing their families altogether cheering for their union. She felt then that it was her destiny to marry Ron, no matter how much she wanted to change it.

The two produce two Ginger-haired children in a span of three years; a little girl named Rose and a baby boy named Hugo. Though they found it hard to hide from reporters always taking photos of their family whenever they went out, they supported each other and tried their best to protect their children from the flashing bulbs of the cameras. Eventually, they moved out of their apartment and looked for a more private home, which later made them neighbors with Fred and Angelina. With Ron's brother and sister-in-law's help, Ron and Hermione learned how to become better parents and, at the same time, a better companion to each other.

Though she did her best to be a faithful wife, she couldn't stop herself from wanting Draco to be by her side every now and then. As much as raising her children and doing so much work at the Ministry distracted her, she missed his hand caressing her face, his eyes locking with hers, their fingers intertwined. Her need for him only intensified when he started working with her in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures as her Chief Advisor in an annual fundraiser she organized. Those two months of overtime in the Ministry solidified their relationship. After Hermione's departure from the department, their meetings weren't as consistent; at times they won't see each other for months and just satisfied themselves with glances from afar. But she would always wait for Draco to owl a letter or call for an appointment at the Ministry. They would meet somewhere secret and use the time turner so their meetings would be undetected.

However, these meetings weren't sexual in nature. They never made love, not even once. Hermione, however how much she wanted to, couldn't see herself cheating on Ron like that anymore. Draco felt the same way and agreed that they shouldn't dare try and cross that line ever again. They would only see each other, talk about anything they felt like. At times, they would kiss each other passionately, but would leave themselves disappointed of not going any further. This would result to a night of guilt with their respective spouses.

But, all this while, another affair had been taking place already. During Ron and Hermione's wedding reception, Hermione invited Draco and Astoria. This, she concluded, was the biggest mistake she made, when she introduced Ron to Astoria. After thirteen years of being Ron's wife, she learned that Ron and Astoria were also having an affair in the most dreadful way possible: the two were found dead in a car crash in Hong Kong. Draco met her in her apartment in Lee to tell her the news.

"Why was Ron there?" Draco asked affectionately. He cupped her chin to see her red eyes still tearing up.

"He said there was an unusual murder case there that they believed—" she sobbed, looking away from Draco eyes, "to be the work of a wizard. He was supposed to meet the muggle law enforcement there to get more information."

Hermione continued to cry, believing it was entirely her fault that Ron cheated again. She felt it wasn't a coincidence that he chose Draco's wife as well. She could've stopped her relationship with Draco, but she didn't. She wasn't sure if he really knew it was Draco that she was seeing, but if he did, he knew well to take Astoria for his own. It was how Ron thinks, she said to herself, and she was the one to blame for everything.

"What was Astoria doing there?" Hermione asked, almost silently. She couldn't stop herself from sobbing.

"Well, she…" Draco stopped, looking at Hermione uncontrollable crying. He held her tighter and continued, "…she worked as a part-time Architect in the muggle world. She said it was therapeutic to become someone else for a while. And since she said she was good at what she did, I didn't hold her back. She said she had a client that wanted to build a house in Hong Kong."

Draco fixed Hermione's hair away from her wet face. He didn't know what else to do to comfort her and himself. He knew Astoria had known that he was seeing someone other than her, but she never brought it up. She just continued life normally, not bothering to ask who it was and why he was doing it. Instead, Draco saw her becoming more caring towards Scorpius, their first son, which will now be their only son.

"Did you have any idea that she—" Hermione wiped her tears and felt that she did not need to finish her sentence.

"No. Did you?" Draco took her hand and held it firm on her abdomen. He felt Hermione's head finding its way on his shoulder.

"No." With one last heavy sigh, Hermione stopped herself from crying.

Silence enveloped their embrace, only the sound of cars from outside interrupting it. A few minutes later, Hermione broke the embrace and sat up on the bed. Draco did the same. They knew they had another task at hand, telling their children. As they stood up, they composed themselves and decided to continue their talk over coffee. The news was still unknown to the public, as Draco requested a media black-out from the Minister of Magic. He knew that it won't do any good to them if the public found out about it too early with information they shouldn't have to know.

Walking towards Florance's place that early morning, they remained silent and discreet. No one was really there to feast on their presence but seeing them together in public wasn't really ideal for either of them. It was around 7 o'clock in the morning when they arrived at the café. They ordered two cappuccinos and two slices of chocolate cakes.

"Did you tell Harry about it yet?" Hermione asked, handing the menu over to the waiter.

"I was with Potter when the Minister told us. He is the Head of the Auror Department, after all." Draco sighed, placing his hands together on the table.

"But, why didn't they call for me? I'm his wife." This was said almost blankly, with a hint of disbelief.

"They probably figured Potter would be a better candidate in breaking the news to you."

"Well, why wasn't he the one to tell me the news? Does he know you're the one telling this to me now?"

"He does. I told him I would and that he should tell the rest of the Weasley's what happened."

Their orders arrived and once again they fell silent. They both knew the next topic would be their children and how they could possibly tell them about their mom and dad's death. After taking a few bites of their cakes, they continued with their discussion.

"Should we visit Hogwarts?" Draco uttered softly, putting down his cup of cappuccino.

"I think we should." Hermione took another bite of her cake and asked modestly, "Should we… tell them the truth… about Ron and Astoria?"

"No. I think it's only for us two to know. Or three, counting Potter."

It surprised Draco that Harry wasn't shocked about Ron and Astoria being in the same car. However, he looked concerned and sad about his friend's death. Harry was the one who suggested the possibility of the media black-out for a certain amount of time. He also helped Draco formulate a story that would somehow cover up the Ron and Astoria's affair, taking out memories from their brains so no one could get it and know anything more than what the papers will say when they give their statements and show the Daily Prophet the green light.

"Do you think Harry will tell Ginny and the rest the truth?"

"No. We already talked about it earlier this morning what we're going to say. They were well acquainted, so whatever story will be believable. After eating dinner at a local restaurant together, Ron offered Astoria a ride to the hotel where coincidently they both stayed in. Then the accident happened."

"I can't believe Harry would agree to lie to the Weasleys." She finished her drink, uncertain of how she felt about Harry lying to Ron's family.

"I don't think he wants your husband to be remembered as a cheating bastard. I wouldn't want people to remember Astoria in such an unpleasant way, myself." Draco said sadly. He can't look straight at Hermione's face, still not recovering from the sight of it crying a few moments earlier. It had been a long time since he last saw her cry; he had thought it would've been the last of it.

"So, that's what I should tell my children then?" She looked directly at Draco's eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking about.

"I think it would be best if we didn't tell them the truth. They're good friends, you know; Scorpius and Rose. It wouldn't do them any good if they found out about the truth." Draco said in straight firmness.

"How are we so sure that they—" Hermione stopped herself in the sight of another set of customers entering the café. Assuring herself that they were muggles, she looked back at Draco with an inquiring look. "Are you really sure?"

"Hermione, I saw the memories myself. The minister took them to confirm if it was just indeed a car accident. But he chose me and Potter to look at them instead. In the memories, I heard them talking about lying to us, and how they should maximize their stay in Hong Kong as much as they could. They even talked about previous trips to other places and how they would like to repeat it again." Draco took her hand and sighed, "I don't want to believe it myself, but it's true."

"This is my entire fault, I think." Hermione took her hand away from Draco and slid it below the table. "If I hadn't been seeing you after I married Ron, he probably wouldn't have cheated again. He wouldn't have chosen your wife. None of this would've happened. Everything would've been fine."

A tear escaped from her eyes again, alarming Draco to wipe it off her face immediately. But before he could touch her face, Hermione already wiped it with her thumb. She looked again at the man in front of her and put her lips in a thin line, fighting the urge to cry as if her life depended on it. She knew he wasn't fond of seeing a woman cry. She composed herself and calmed herself down on her own. She let out another deep breath, composing her apology in her head.

"It's none of our faults. We didn't do anything wrong over the thirteen years of our marriages—"

"I lied at the altar the moment I promised to love Ron more than anything in the world. I broke my vows to Ron the moment I kissed you. Draco, I love you so much, and now this love had made the people we cared about lose their lives. I don't know how I'm going to forgive myself."

"Don't you think I feel bad for knowing Astoria's dead? Don't you think I feel horrible knowing the mother of my child is gone? Please don't put everything on your shoulders, Hermione." Draco licked his lips, preparing himself from another rationale from Hermione.

"But it's still my fault, if I hadn't been with you at all, I don't think they'd have the slightest idea of wanting another lover."

"It wasn't our fault that Astoria left for Hong Kong to be with Ron. It wasn't our fault that they died. We did our best to stay away from each other, but when they couldn't provide us the love we needed, we couldn't deny ourselves of accepting the fact that we still loved each other. Hermione, I know you know that point in time when Ron was always away for work as much as Astoria was to me. You can't blame yourself for wanting happiness like they did." Draco hadn't planned these words to come out of his mouth, but he knew he meant what he said. He couldn't bear Hermione regretting loving him.

"I just don't think seeing each other after this would be respectful to their memory." Draco's eyes widened, knowing the nature of her next words would be. "I think we shouldn't see each other, for the children, for everyone."

"Hermione, we've been hiding like this because of everyone for far too long. Everything we've done was for them. Isn't it time we do what we want?"

Draco couldn't put up the charade that he was strong, aware that Hermione won't be there for him. Hermione looked at him, understanding well how he felt. But, as she always did, she wanted to do what she thought was necessary.

"As much as I want to tell everyone about us, I don't think the right time to do that is any time soon. I don't want you getting hurt on what other people would say." She placed her hands on the table again, immediately taking Draco's cold hands. "Our spouses' just died. I think we should grieve properly before anything."

Draco took her hand and kissed it, looking her straight in the eye in sorrow. His own eyes started to tear up; afraid of the next days he had to spend knowing his Hermione won't be there with him to grieve his wife's death. He wanted to feel her warm embrace to help him feel a little better. He placed her hand on his cheek, not stopping himself from sobbing. This made Hermione's tears visibly falling again on her face.

"We'll be better off this way, Draco."

Hermione took her hand away from Draco once more. She opened her purse and took out money to pay for their coffee. They both stood up from their seats and walked towards the door side by side. When they both arrived at the portkey that will take them to the Ministry, they took a moment to have one last look at each other. Draco couldn't stop himself from hugging Hermione; he felt horrible and wanted to remedy his pain, not only from losing Astoria, but somehow losing Hermione in the process. After a few more minutes, Draco let go of Hermione, wiping the abundant tears flowing from both their eyes.

Arriving at the Ministry, they stood a few steps away from each other and got ready for future lives to be lived apart.

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><p>Author's Note: If you've read the two chapters, you'll compare the outcome to be a little parallel. In the previous one, they were away from each other then they became friends. In this one, they were 'technically' together then they were forced to be apart.. It's my take on Dramione. It's beautifully sad, the two of them "not" happening.<p>

Thanks for your reading! I hope you still leave me reviews; I terribly need guidance over here. Kisses and bubbles! :)


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